Effectiveness of simple measures to control an outbreak of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in an intensive care unit.
Between June 1985 and March 1986, 14 cases of severe nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection, including septicemia, were observed in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a 400-bed cancer reference center. Simple control measures including contact isolation of colonized patients and reinforcement of handwashing practices among personnel were followed by a sharp decrease in the rate of infection and colonization. An epidemiological investigation showed that a single serophage variant MRSA strain was involved; peak incidence of infection was 17 per 100 ICU patient discharges; the index case was identified as a patient admitted from another hospital and the epidemic strain was then transmitted from patient-to-patient in the ICU; risk factors for acquiring infection were length of prior hospitalization, invasive procedures and number of antibiotic treatments; dissemination of the strain to other wards was only anecdotal. These results stress the effectiveness of simple measures to control outbreaks of MRSA nosocomial infections even in immunocompromised cancer patients.
Guiguet
M
M
INSERM U 263, Paris, France.
Rekacewicz
C
C
Leclercq
B
B
Brun
Y
Y
Escudier
B
B
Andremont
A
A
D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006235:Hand Disinfection; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D010356:Patient Isolation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012703:Serotyping; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*